Today Caitlin is here to share her story of having a baby with a cleft lip and palate. Usually, we talk mostly about the birth in birth story episodes of the podcast, but this episode is a little different. Caitlin reached out because despite it being relatively common, she noticed that I’d never touched upon cleft lip and palate on the podcast before and she wanted to share her experience and help others.

So what is cleft lip and palate? They are congenital conditions that occur during fetal development. An incomplete closure of the lip and/or palate (the roof of the mouth) results in a gap or opening in the affected areas. We don't know exactly what causes cleft lip and palate but fortunately it can usually be treated with surgery. Caitlin shares everything from how she found out (the way the doctor delivered the news was terrible) to the surgeries her baby girl had after birth. I’m so excited to finally be discussing this topic!

In this Episode, You’ll Learn About:

• How she found out about the cleft lip/palate - it was terrible
• How she felt after receiving the news
• What she did to prepare for a baby with these challenges
• Which kind of cleft condition her baby had
• Why she pumped instead of breastfed
• How she predicted that she was going to have a big baby
• How many surgeries her baby has had

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Full website notes: drnicolerankins.com/episode246

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The concern about pregnant women changing kitty litter comes from the possibility of getting infected with something called toxoplasmosis. What is toxoplasmosis, what problems does it cause, and can you really get it from kitty litter?

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In this episode you're going to learn exactly what happens during your menstrual cycle. I decided to talk about this because, quite frankly, it’s something that many of us don’t fully understand. We talk about our cycles in relation to pregnancy but there’s a lot more to periods than ovulation!

Your cycle can influence so many aspects of your life: libido, mood, energy, skin, appetite, and more! Better understanding your periods can help you make informed decisions regarding reproductive health, fertility, and overall well-being.

In this Episode, You’ll Learn About:

• What constitutes a regular menstrual cycle
• What the phases of the cycle are
• Which hormones are associated with pregnancy
• When ovulation occurs
• How to track ovulation
• How fertilization and implantation work
• How IUDs prevent pregnancy
• Whether you can really have a period while you’re pregnant

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Full website notes: drnicolerankins.com/episode245

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In this shorty episode you'll learn the changes that can happen with your sleep during pregnancy, why we recommend you don't sleep on your back during pregnancy, and strategies to get a good night's sleep (don't drink chamomile tea!).

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What can an attorney teach you about your labor and birth? A lot, it turns out! Gina Mundy specializes in childbirth cases defending medical professionals. Over the course of her 20+ year career, she has learned about the mistakes that can happen in hospitals and she’s here to share those insights with us. Her book, "A Parent's Guide to a Safer Childbirth," helps parents prevent errors and have a healthy baby. In today’s episode we are going to go through the 12 lessons covered in her book.

In this Episode, You’ll Learn About:

• Lesson 1 - Learning About Labor and Delivery
• Lesson 2 - The Delivery Team
• Lesson 3 - The Good Doctor
• Lesson 4 - Know Your Hospital
• Lesson 5 - Having a Plan
• Lesson 6 - Having an Advocate
• Lesson 7 - Knowing the Types of Fetal Monitors
• Lesson 8 - Knowing What Your Baby’s Heart Rate Means
• Lesson 9 - Understanding Tests and Interventions
• Lesson 10 - Common Facts and Issues in Legal Baby Cases
• Lesson 11 - Safety and Epidurals
• Lesson 12 - Understanding C-Sections

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Full website notes: drnicolerankins.com/episode244

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Listen in to learn what's considered a safe amount of caffeine during pregnancy.

Get info on the amount of caffeine in many common beverages (like Starbucks) at the Center For Science In The Public Interest - https://www.cspinet.org/caffeine-chart

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Fibroids, two C-sections, and one myomectomy. Denise showed incredible strength and bravery along her difficult path to motherhood. In addition to carrying her baby, she had fibroids that grew to enormous size - one was the size of a grapefruit! She had a myomectomy (fibroid removal) and two months afterward she discovered that she was pregnant again. She was told specifically not to get pregnant for at least 24 months to let her uterus heal but, as Denise says, “things happen”!

Since pregnancy number two was especially high-risk, she was referred to a maternal fetal medicine specialist. Even though she felt afraid, her peace was her priority throughout her unique and stressful birth experiences. She had a planned c-section and in the end she had a beautiful birth and a healthy baby.

In this Episode, You’ll Learn About:

• How Denise got through two high-risk pregnancies
• Why her first birth ended in an emergency c-section
• When she was diagnosed with fibroids
• What symptoms Denise was experiencing before the fibroids were discovered
• How she felt after her myomectomy
• How any fibroids were removed and low large they were
• Why she wanted to have the same doctor for her pregnancy and the delivery
• How pregnancy felt with and without fibroids

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Full website notes: drnicolerankins.com/episode243

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The concern about eating deli meat in pregnancy revolves around the bacteria listeria. You'll learn what is listeria, how it can be very serious for your baby and what you can do to prevent it - including whether or not you should eat deli meat.

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Today I'm sharing a lesson from my online childbirth education class - The Birth Preparation Course! In this episode, you’re going to learn about the stages of labor. Every labor is different but there are some common generalities that are true most of the time. From the first contractions to pushing out your baby, I’ll walk you through the steps so you’ll know what to expect.

This lesson is great in audio but it's even better in video! If you want to check out the course after listening to this episode, grab all the details at DrNicoleRankins.com/enroll.

In this Episode, You’ll Learn About:

• What the 3 stages of labor are
• What labor is actually like
• How to know when you’re in labor
• What the cervix is
• How cervical dilation is measured
• How long labor can last
• How to recognize a contraction
• What signals the beginning of active labor
• What happens when your water breaks
• How do you know when it’s time to go to the hospital

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Full website notes: drnicolerankins.com/episode242

Check out The Birth Preparation Course

Register for the class How to Create a Birth Plan the Right Way

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This is adult content so if you have kiddos, pop in those headphones!

You'll hear me share how I pulled a sex toy from someone's vagina that had been in there for 4 - yes 4 - days.

You'll also hear about whether sex in pregnancy is safe (spoiler alert it's very safe!) and some other helpful info (like some women actually have an increased sex drive during pregnancy - that's normal!).

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